Composition of 2025 on Off the Wall Friday

YOU TELL 'EM, SALLY!

 The doldrums have finally diminished, and all God's people said Amen.   Unless you live off a Great Lake you really can't get a sense of what it's like to go weeks - yes weeks  - without sun.  We'll get a sunny afternoon, and I always go for a long drive, it feels so good.  Today was not such a day though.  The last sun we saw was hmmmmmm Saturday and this morning we awoke to inches of ice.  Lovely.

But...my pile of last year's Art Page-A-Day calendar paintings were sitting there just waiting to do another composition post.  For you that are new, I have had this calendar on my desk for about 12 years now.  At the end of the year, I'm loathed to throw out so many inspirational paintings, so I use them to study the composition and other elements of design.  I personally start every piece - no matter art or traditional - with composition and value.  To me those are the basics.  

New to Composition?  Here is a quick guide - it's basically how you set up the main elements of your piece.

Not rocket science right?  There are plenty more out there too.  You can search this blog for PLENTY of composition posts.    So here are the three I literally chose at random (it's more fun that way!)

American School, Ferris Wheel at Columbian Exhibition in Chicago 1893

I like how this is clearly circular - twice - plus with a cool element of radial going on.  This is one of the few compositions that work well dead center of the piece.  Also, notice how the seats create this strong the rhythm.  Honestly this would be a great one to use for inspiration to abstract out and see where it takes you!

Francois Pascal Simon Gerard, Joachim Murat, 1815

Inevitably when I do a random pick, I end up with a triangular composition because portraits are clearly that.  For the record, I totally would kill for his hair! 

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Apples 1917

When this one popped up I thought...oh that's interesting.  It has two compositions going... a square... plus an implied triangle.  Compositions are always better with odd number of groupings - which I see three.  

Now I know what you're saying...what does this to do with quilting?  Glad you asked!  Picked rather quickly and radomly from my pinterest files...

By Helen Giglio

Now there is a true radial - once again set in the center where it's so strong.  At first glad you might think square but nope - it's the radial lines that are the strongest. 

Think it's only for art quilts?  Think again....

Cosmic, by Mary River Quilt Guild (their raffle quilt - great huh?!)

This one is a golden spiral.  The interesting thing about this is that they use value to imply the spiral along with the radial lines of the main star.  (I didn't have the heart to draw over it)

Anyways ... you get my drift.  I mean you can do what I do.  Go to art museums and try to work out the compositions of your favorite paintings.  Or you can try to pick a composition and then design a quilt using the one you pick.  Even if you pick one at random and do little mock ups.  You never know where an exercise will lead.

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

 

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